ABSTRACT
Industrialization and urbanization are the primary revolutionary forces that remake and reshape the world (Carpenter 1966). Urbanization is the process when other types of land cover, such as agriculture and vegetation, are largely replaced by paved concrete surfaces. In the past several decades, significant population increases, migration, and accelerated socioeconomic development have intensified the urbanization process in both China and the United States. Not surprisingly, this rapid urbanization process, along with the ongoing social and economic transitions, has been creating many environmental problems. However, there are important differences in development stages, cultures and societies, urban structures, construction materials, and physical settings that result in differences of magnitudes, patterns, spatial extents, and natures of urban growth between the two countries. These differences have then
5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 81 5.2 Study Areas..................................................................................................... 83 5.3 Data and Methodology ...................................................................................84
